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The EB-5 Program | The Facts About The "Investment Green Card"

The Facts About the “INVESTMENT GREEN CARD”

The “Investment Green Card” has been around since the 1990s but didn’t see much use until a few years ago. The program is intended to attract High-Wealth foreign households by offering them a green card for full-time residency in the United States in exchange for an investment in Federally Approved Public or Private Development projects, such as new office buildings, shopping centers, or condominiums. If foreign investors can show their investment has created at least 10 jobs in the United States, then after about 12 to 18 months, they can get a green card without the sponsorship of an employer or family member. Because of the role of the regional centers, the program is called the Regional Center EB-5 program.

Here’s what you need to know about the investment required to make in a ” Regional Center”

The minimum investment to qualify is $500,00

The money must be invested in one of the 130 or so approved Regional Centers; additional centers are going through approval stages, so that number rises. Investment requirements can go up to $1 million, depending on the center.

Risk is Inherent

Investors must go into the program with the same expectation they’d have of any other investment: that it could lose money. In any case, expect the funds to be tied up for several years due to regulatory requirements.

Jobs must be created as a result

It’s the developer’s responsibility to prove to Federal Government that the project will create a minimum of 10 jobs, either directly or indirectly, in the community.

There are no Geographic Restrictions

Investors can live anywhere in the country as long as the investment is in an approved Regional Center.

The Green Card comes later

Once all regulations are complied with, the investors should get a green card within a year or so. Two years later, an investor must file an application to prove that the investment has been sustained over the time and jobs have been created.